


It's A Boy

by PinkHighlighter



Series: North Pole Drama [5]
Category: Santa Clause (Movies)
Genre: Bratty Kid Sister, Gen, More tags to come as situations arise., Not of TF...but of his dad. Just mentioned., Possible trigger warning for past physical and emotional abuse., Working Mother, distant father
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-30
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2019-12-27 01:04:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18293714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PinkHighlighter/pseuds/PinkHighlighter
Summary: If the Tooth Fairy has always been a female in the past, how will the Council of Legendary Figures react when the latest newborn in the bloodline happens to be a boy?  What was his childhood like, and how did he get to where he is today?  You'll find the answers to those questions here!  (I suggest reading 'The Hollow' and 'A Strange Bond' first.)





	1. A Little Surprise

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this in the back of my mind for a while, based on my own headcanon for TF. I thought it would work better as a separate story, rather than as a flashback in 'A Strange Bond', so here it is. There will be a lot of time jumps, but if anyone is curious about what happens in between, I might be able to work out a oneshot. I'm debating whether or not to have Alpha show up at some point, before she's actually Alpha, but that might be pushing it as far as coincidences go. XD Hope you like it!

September 20th, 1510 

     Fergus thought he knew what was getting into when he married the Tooth Fairy. Or, as he called her in the privacy of their own home, Cori. He knew that when her mother passed away, she would take on her duties and this would greatly limit their time together. He knew that, but surely that was centuries into the future.

     He knew that he would be in charge of caring for any children they might have if his mother-in-law met with a premature end, as sometimes happened when the weaker fliers had no choice but to brave bad weather. Still, the current Tooth Fairy was still going strong, and at eight hundred years old he and Cori were still young yet (though he was beginning to look middle-aged). There was plenty of time to expand their family.

     He knew that their firstborn would be a daughter, and the reason why he knew this was because every child in the Tooth Fairy bloodline had been a female, and so, why would that trend ever change?

     None of the races, magical or non-magical, were immune to complacency, and life derailed his plans as life often likes to do. Cori became pregnant when they had only been married for three years. Cori's mother, who insisted that she and her daughter be addressed as 'Tooth Fairy', as was proper, had fallen gravely ill when her magic went into an unusually bad case of flux. The reason why it got so bad in the first place was because it struck when she was alone, and Mother Nature was the one to discover her after she didn't start her rounds for the night. By that time, her fever was very high.

     When she recovered, her health was permanently damaged and she couldn't fly as well as she did before. Her daughter wanted to take over, since she was the firstborn and it was her right, but the woman was nothing if not stubborn. There _had_ to be plenty of time...right?

     Now, as Fergus paced the yard and listened to his wife's agonized cries, he waited for his own daughter to be born. The midwives had barred him from their small dwelling, and, quite frankly, he had no desire to see his wife go through so much pain. Instead of insisting that he remain at her side, he had kissed her clammy forehead and gone out.

     The mental image of her reaching out to him as he turned away wouldn't stop nagging at him, but he remained outside. It was expected of men to be outside when their wives gave birth. Men weren't meant to see that. Just as women weren't meant to know what men talked about when they got together without their wives. And yet...

_She needs me. And I'm out here._

     Fergus folded his arms across his barrel chest, and he halted his pacing and stared anxiously at the door when the screams suddenly stopped. There was a moment of complete silence, then a gurgling cry, and finally a healthy wail. Fergus fluttered his large red wings and waited to be let back inside. As the minutes ticked by and no one came out to give him a verbal update, he began to worry. His daughter sounded healthy, if those lusty cries were anything to go by, so what was the delay?

     Finally the door opened, and one of the two Fairy women who had attended the birth came out to meet him. "You may go in now, Fergus, but there's-"

     He slipped past her in a moment of unintentional rudeness; he was anxious to see his wife and child, and he pulled back the curtain that hung in their bedroom doorway in lieu of a door. Cori lay exhausted on the bed, the tips of her delicate pink wings peeking over her shoulders as she cradled the tiny bundle in her arms. The other midwife left the room with a basket that was filled with towels and he didn't want to know what else, and he frowned when she pushed past him.

     "Fergus..." Cori smiled up at him, but there was something about her expression that he didn't quite like. Perhaps it was fatigue. Her dark hair was damp with perspiration, and she looked like she was ready to fall asleep.

     Fergus came over and kissed her, placing a gentle hand on the bundle in her arms. "Is she all right?"

     "Yes...but..." Cori trailed off as if she were confused.

     "What? What's wrong?"

     The swaddled baby squirmed and began to fuss, wanting to be fed.

     Cori turned her eyes back to the baby, who was growing increasingly agitated. "Nothing is _wrong,_ but...it's not a she. We have a _son_..."

     Fergus's face went blank as his wife began to nurse their child. Their _son._ The Tooth Fairy was supposed to be a _female!_ It was a _woman's_ job, and that line had always birthed girls!

     But in that day and age, no one knew that it was really the father who determined the sex of the child, and that the unbroken line of girls had merely been the result of random chance.

     He shook his head. "This can't be right..."

     Cori frowned at him, on the verge of tears. "What a thing to say...Our baby is _healthy._ Isn't that what matters?"

     "Of _course_ it matters..." He realized his error and looked down at his son. The boy really did favor him in terms of looks, so...perhaps it was just as well that he wasn't born a girl. "I just didn't expect the baby to be a boy. He's a good size, too."

     Cori gave a mirthless chuckle, startling the baby, but he immediately relaxed and went back to what he was doing. "I honestly wouldn't have minded if he were a bit smaller."

     Fergus colored a little and cleared his throat.

     She sighed as she prepared to deliver the second piece of news. Fairies were not born with fully developed wings. If they were, childbirth would be quite impossible. Until a Fairy child was old enough to walk, their wings remained undersized and attached to their backs, but the difference between male and female wings was still there. Males had larger wings than females. Smaller wings on a boy was considered a deformity, one that showed up from time to time, and since this wasn't a desirable trait to pass on they often had little success in finding a wife.

     Cori and Fergus wouldn't know how large their son's wings would be until they detached and expanded to their full size, but she had seen the almost tattoo-like purple design on her baby's back, and she _knew._ If it wasn't for the obvious proof that he was male, she would think that this baby was a girl. How would Fergus react?

     "What is it?" he asked.

     "His wings are smaller than they should be...He'll be teased..." She stroked the baby's wispy brown curls with her thumb. He'd been born with a lot of hair. Even the midwives had commented on it.

     Fergus took this in with a thoughtful look on his face, and eventually he nodded. "Then I'll have to show him how to take care of himself. And what about a name?"

     "You _know_ what his name is," Cori reminded him, "I can't change the rules, husband."

     "Yes, but what will we _call_ him? Your name isn't really 'Cori'. It's just what _I_ call you." Fergus replied.

     Cori adjusted her nightgown when the baby decided he was full, and she propped him up with his chin on her shoulder to rub and pat his back. "I like the name 'Roy'."

     "That's a good one."

     " _Ahhhp!_ "

     Cori and Fergus both chuckled at the volume of their son's burp, and Fergus nodded, "I think _he_ likes it, too."

     "He doesn't just _look_ like you; he _sounds_ like you!" Cori teased. "Would you like to hold him?"

     Fergus nodded, but he'd never held a baby before. He'd never had any desire to, really, mostly because he had seen how boneless they looked when they were new, and he was afraid of losing his grip and, Heaven forbid, dropping them. When Cori passed baby Roy over to him his grip was unsure, and the infant's eyes popped open as soon as he sensed he was being held by someone other than his mother. More to the point, he sensed that whoever was holding him didn't know what he was doing.

     Fergus looked at Roy. Roy looked at Fergus. _Definitely_ not 'Mama'. " _Waaaaaa!_ "

     The loudness of the cry hurt Fergus's ears, and his heart sank as he quickly handed the baby back to Cori. "He hates me..."

     "No, he doesn't," Cori took her son back, and the baby settled immediately. "I think it's because you weren't supporting his bottom correctly. Babies like to feel secure. It'll get easier."

     The midwives came back in to give Cori some last minute advice, and Fergus made himself scarce for a little while as they talked. He went back in when they were gone, and saw that Cori was almost asleep again. "Are you all right?"

     "Yes," she sighed, trying to force her eyes to stay open. "It's been a very long day. And when I've recovered, Mother Nature will want to see him. The Council needs to know..."

     Fergus nodded, wondering what they would say when they found out the next Tooth Fairy after Cori would be a _man._ He saw how tired his wife was, and he held out his arms. "Let me try again. You look tired."

     Cori nodded and carefully passed Roy to his father once more, and this time Fergus supported him properly and he didn't get upset. As he grew less tentative and more sure of what he was doing, Fergus fluttered his wings and smiled.

_This is my son._

 


	2. Debut

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fergus puts a rude doctor in his place. Mother Nature and the rest of the Council meet the new future Tooth Fairy at the Year-End Holiday Conference, and after the meeting she pulls Fergus and fam aside for a chat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since this is 500 years in the past, not all of the Council members are the same. Mother Nature, Father Time, Cupid, Jack Frost and Sandman are the same (although the Sandman legend wasn't around in 1500, so I'm taking some creative license here). There is a different Easter Bunny (again, creative license), Santa is a different Santa, and obviously Alpha hasn't even been born yet. Bernard isn't the Head Elf at this point, but he makes an appearance. And, though it isn't explicitly stated, the 'current' Head Elf, Jeremy, is Curtis's father.

1510 

     No one ever explained to Fergus that new babies cried a _lot._ The first week after his son's birth was relatively peaceful. The baby spent a lot of time sleeping, only crying to announce that he needed a feed or a change, but colic set in after that, and it was a _nightmare._ Nothing he or Cori did could calm the boy, who frequently screamed himself hoarse, and the town's closest doctor began to grow annoyed with the anxious new parents. On their fourth visit, the young doctor made the mistake of snapping at Cori and driving her to tears.

     "You _silly_ woman, there is _nothing_ wrong with your son," Dr. Seth raised his voice to be heard above the exhausted infant's plaintive wails. "It's a simple case of colic, just like it was the last time you brought him here, and the time before that, and the time before _that._ I already _told_ you what to do, and if you'd been paying attention-"

     Cori's face twisted and she turned away with a loud sob, and Fergus got between them, his hands beginning to glow red with his personal shade of magic. His contained rage was truly a sight to behold. "That's more than enough. Listen, you pompous ass, I don't care if you learned at the elbow of Hippocrates himself, that doesn't give you the right to speak to my wife that way. If you'd let her get a word in edgewise, you'd _know_ that we followed your instructions to the letter, and he's _still_ screaming all the time!"

     Dr. Seth seemed to be doing his best goldfish impression as his mouth opened and closed, but even if he could have found his voice, Fergus wasn't giving him an opening.

     " _We_ can't sleep, _he_ can't sleep, and he's _miserable!_ He won't eat when he's like this. We tried rubbing that stuff on his belly, we tried a warm bath, we tried pacing the room with him, walking him outside for a change of scenery, and _every night_ he screams so hard he turns purple! Now, either your diagnosis is wrong, and you're just too stubborn to admit it, or we need to try something else. And _apologize_ to my wife...before I say something unkind." Fergus curled his glowing hands into fists. He wasn't known for being violent, but he was a large man, and he was _furious._

     Dr. Seth had backed up so that his slate gray wings brushed against the hanging anatomy chart, causing it to sway, and he vigorously nodded his head. "I apologize...Um...let me have another look at the boy."

     "Absolutely not," Fergus grabbed his coat and put it on. "You're never going near our child again. We'll find someone who knows what he's doing. Let's go, Cori. It's a bit of a flight, but I hear Dr. Tanin is very nice."

     The couple left without another word, and Dr. Seth sat down with a 'thump'. "That man is clearly unhinged..."

* * *

     Dr. Tanin was an altogether different sort of man than Dr. Seth, and the first thing he did upon opening the door of his clinic and seeing the stern father, the distraught young mother, and their wailing infant, was draw them in and pull up some chairs. "Sit down, my dear. Shut the door behind you, sir. Now, what seems to be the trouble?"

     Cori was so relieved to be welcomed in instead of being treated like an inconvenience that she went to pieces and couldn't speak. Dr. Tanin passed her a handkerchief and turned to Fergus. "Why don't you catch me up while I give this little fellow a look-over?"

     Fergus liked this new doctor already. "We were told it was colic, but nothing we were told to do seems to help."

     "Have you tried a warm bath?" asked Dr. Tanin as he checked little Roy's vital signs.

     Cori sniffled as she began to calm down. "We've tried everything. Dr. Seth wouldn't even listen to me..."

     "Oh, _him._ Several former patients of his have complained to me about him. Bit of a stuffed shirt, from what I hear, though it's rather unprofessional of me to say so." The Doctor rolled his eyes, then frowned when the infant spit up and grew even more upset. "Ohh, I know, little man...Not fun, huh? Does that happen often?"

     Both parents nodded, and Cori added, "It's always a few minutes to an hour after he eats."

     After listening to their questions and asking a few of his own, Dr. Tanin nodded and asked them one more thing. "How do you normally hold him after he eats? Like this, on his back?"

     "Yes," Cori nodded, still sniffling a little.

     "Hm. Well, I have to concur with Dr. Seth; your son does indeed have colic."

     Fergus wasn't sure if he wanted to tell this doctor off too, or simply sit down and admit defeat, but Dr. Tanin wasn't finished.

     " _And_ a moderate case of reflux. And what that means is, when he eats, the part of his stomach that holds his feed down is letting a little bit come back up again, and this is what causes him to spit up." He paused to allow the new parents to take this in.

     "Does it hurt him?" asked Cori, on the verge of tears again. Baby Roy, for his part, had finally exhausted himself and fallen into a fitful sleep with his chin resting on the doctor's shoulder.

     "It _does_ cause some discomfort, I'm afraid, but he should grow out of it within the year. His digestive system is still maturing, you see." Dr. Tanin explained, "Just keep doing what you're doing for the colic. Try giving him smaller, more frequent feeds. And try holding him upright instead."

     Cori sighed as her husband put an arm around her and rubbed her shoulder. " _Thank_ you. For actually _listening_ to us. Dr. Seth was just awful..."

     Dr. Tanin looked disdainful at the mention of the other doctor's name. "These young bucks all think they have something to prove. Maybe time and experience will knock him down from his perch."

     Fergus chuckled; he knew who they would be taking their son to from now on!

* * *

     On November twenty-eighth, a sullen-looking Elf watched as the Head Elf followed Santa into the study. He rubbed one of his thin black dreadlocks between his thumb and finger, wondering what exactly went on during a Council meeting, and why he, the Keeper of the Handbook, wasn't allowed in. It wasn't as if he was the low man on the totem pole, after all! As Santa's third in command, Bernard thought he deserved to at least be in the loop! It just wasn't fair.

     And this meeting was an important one, too! It was the Year-End Holiday Conference, after all, and he'd heard a rumor that a new future member of the Council, the latest in line to be the Tooth Fairy, had been born in September. Would the new baby be introduced today? It was so exciting, and he was going to _miss_ it! Just because the Head Elf, Jeremy, looked more like a human teenager due to the 'age' magic of his position, that didn't mean he had the right to lord it over-

     "Coming through! Oneside, Bernie!" Cupid flew over Bernard's head with a saucy salute, weaving through the gap in the closing door at the last second.

     "It's _Bernard._ "

     Jack Frost was the next to arrive, strolling down the hall like he owned the place. "Hello, Elves! Nice day for a blizzard, isn't it? You're welcome, by the way. _Bernie,_ long time no see. How're things?"

     "It's-"

     "Okay, okaaay, _'Bernard'._ Why are you sitting out here when you could be in there?" Jack pointed first at the bench, then at the closed door which seemed to mock the grumpy Elf.

     "Because Santa's the boss, and he says so," Bernard folded his arms. Instead of reading the Handbook, he was sitting on it. The book had some very good pointers, but much of it was so outdated that he looked upon the information as 'guidelines' rather than 'law that must be obeyed at all costs'. This annoyed Jeremy, who was a stickler for the rules, and Bernard had a suspicion that he had gotten Santa to exclude him from these meetings. "Anyway, what do you care?"

     "Oh, now, that hurt," Jack Frost put a hand over his frozen heart. "I won't even tell you what I know about the new arrival."

     Bernard bit his lip, then called after Jack in his high-pitched childlike voice, "Hey, wait a minute!"

     "Hm, I thought I heard someone calling me, but...nope! Must've been the wind." And with that, Jack Frost entered the study, and a chorus of groans met Bernard's ears as the door shut behind the Sprite.

     "Gingersnaps..."

     Cori, who had approached unseen with her husband and son, giggled merrily at this. "Such language."

     "Oh! Sorry, Tooth Fairy, I... _oh._ " Bernard blinked when he saw the bundle in her arms. So, it _was_ true! "Congratulations, ma'am!"

     "Now, Bernard, you _know_ I asked you to call me 'Cori'," She playfully scolded him. At her elbow, Fergus stifled a yawn. "But thank you. Would you like to see him?"

     "I... _'him'?_ " Bernard's thick eyebrows shot up. Then, realizing that he was being rude, he quickly recovered himself. "Sure!"

     Fergus leaned in and muttered, "Dear, the meeting's about to start..." Then he threw up his hands and sighed as his wife disregarded this.

     "These things always start a little late," Cori said over her shoulder as she leaned over and pulled back a corner of the blanket so that Bernard could see.

     Like all of Santa's Elves, Bernard loved children, and he had a special soft spot for babies. Before their wings grew out, Fairies and humans were practically identical, so he wasn't surprised at what he saw. As he got his first look at the new Tooth Fairy, Bernard privately thought to himself that there was no doubt whatsoever about the baby's paternity. There were differences, of course; Fergus's hair was a lighter shade of brown, and it was straight. The baby had his mother's hair color, and Bernard could tell that if he let it grow out it would have a bit of a curl to it. Other than that, if someone were to show him an image of Fergus at the same age, he could easily mistake them for twins. "Can I hold him?"

     Fergus stewed in the background. He wanted to get this meeting over with so that they could go home. His mother-in-law, the current Tooth Fairy, was laid up, hence the reason why they had come in her stead, and his wife should be asleep so that she could safely make her rounds. This delay irked him.

     "Of course. In fact, would you be so good as to watch him for a little while? He's been a bit fussy, and I don't know how long we'll be," Cori passed her son over to Bernard, who held the newborn in an expert grip. The baby jumped a little as he was passed from one set of arms to the other, but feeling secure he didn't quite wake up.

     "Sure! We'll be fine out here, won't we, Sport?" Bernard grinned as he sat back down on the bench.

     Fergus raised an eyebrow. "'Sport'?"

* * *

     Mother Nature and Father Time waited patiently for the last member of the Council to arrive so that they could begin. Although most of them didn't know it yet, this was a time of both joy and sadness; a new life had come into the world, and would soon be brought before the Council to be recognized, but one of their number was soon to be leaving.

     The current Santa, a quiet man who didn't have much in the way of a sense of humor, spoke in undertones with Jeremy while the rest of the Council got settled.

     Sandman snoozed by the fireplace. He worked hard all night long, so for now Mother Nature let him sleep.

     The Easter Bunny preened her long black ears, doing her best to ignore Jack Frost's entrance, but she lost that battle when the Winter Sprite did a double-take and stared at her expanding middle.

     " _Again,_ Easter Bunny? How many heirs to the 'bunny throne' do you _need?_ "

     "How dare you!" The heavily pregnant rabbit struggled to her feet and threw a dyed egg at Jack, missing him by a mile; her eyesight wasn't very good, and she refused to wear spectacles. Unfortunately, the egg hit Cupid right between the eyes, knocking off his crown of golden laurel leaves. As small as he was, the blow sent him spiraling to the floor.

     "Wh...'Ey!"

     Easter Bunny covered her twitching nose with her paws and quickly sat back down again. "Ooh, I'm so sorry, Cupid!"

     Jack wagged a finger at her. "And well you _should_ be."

     Mother Nature's gavel came down with a sharp 'CRACK', and Sandman snorted awake. "Jack!"

     Jack wisely moved off and sat down.

     Then the door opened, and Cori-Tooth Fairy-walked in with her husband, who was largely ignored by half of the people in the room. Not that he minded; these affairs had never interested him. Pleasantries were exchanged, and Mother Nature got things started.

     "Very well, then, I now convene the Year-End Holiday Conference," She tapped the gavel on the block, and she looked more serious than usual. "And this year it's a somber occasion; Santa has an announcement to make."

     Santa got to his feet and cleared his throat; Jeremy, his Head Elf, looked down at the floor. "Thank you, Mother Nature, and thank all of you for coming. I'm sorry to say that this will be my last meeting with you all."

     "What?" Cori leaned forward as if she hadn't heard him correctly.

     "I'm afraid so, Tooth Fairy. I've been Santa Claus for a long time. My wife and I have watched from afar as our children grew up and had families of their own, but we never could be a part of it. We've outlived all three of them, and our last great-grandchild has just become engaged to be married. Mrs. Claus and I...we're very tired. And so, I've hand-picked my successor, although he doesn't know it yet."

     The Easter Bunny, already emotional from her pregnancy, was crying into a handful of the grass she'd used to line her basket. If it wasn't for her black fur, she would have ended up with grass stains. Sandman awkwardly patted her on the shoulder, but he had been through this many times before. Occasionally, he would become close friends with one of the more transient members of the Council, but he hadn't had much to do with this particular Santa.

     Father Time sighed as he leaned on his staff. "And this is really what you want?"

     Santa nodded. "It's what _we_ want. I don't think humans were ever meant to live beyond a human lifespan. Not when we have to leave the ones we love behind, watching them grow old and die while we remain."

     Mother Nature and Father Time exchanged a sorrowful look, and Father time stroked his beard. "So be it. But we'll miss you."

     Fergus heard his wife sniffle, and he laid a hand on her shoulder without a word. Almost as if in answer to this, a baby started crying just outside the door, drawing everyone's attention. Mother Nature, who knew about the baby's existence, simply smiled and addressed the couple.

     "And with that, I believe our next order of business has asserted themself. Tooth Fairy, do you have anything to add?" Mother Nature had a twinkle in her eye.

     Cori wiped away a tear and smiled back. "I do. That is, _we_ do. Our child was born on September the twentieth."

     Easter Bunny screamed and seized her in a tight embrace, causing Fergus to look at her as if she were insane, and there was a round of congratulations from everyone except for Jack Frost and Cupid. Jack didn't care at all, and Cupid simply made a noise of acknowledgement and gave a nod.

     There was a knock at the door, and they heard Bernard clear his throat and raise his voice to be heard over the cries. "Excuse me. Sorry to interrupt, but the kid just threw up on me."

     "Oh, dear..." Cori put a hand over her face as she got up to retrieve her son and apologize. "I'm so sorry, Bernard. I forgot to tell you, he has reflux. I should have showed you how to hold him so that wouldn't happen..."

     Bernard didn't look too upset by it as he handed over the fussy infant. "Oh, don't worry about it. That's happened to me before. I just want to go clean up."

     "Of course," Cori took the baby and watched Bernard leave. Behind her, you could hear a pin drop.

     Then, as one, everyone but Mother Nature chorused, " _'He'?_ "

     Cori patted her son on the back as he hiccupped to an uncertain stop, and nodded. "I know, it surprised us too. But here he is."

     "Ooh, let me see, let me see!" Easter Bunny hopped over for a better look.

     Roy couldn't support his head very well yet, but he managed to turn it enough to look for the source of the voice. The face that loomed in front of him caused his eyes to widen, and he simply _stared._

     "Do you want to come see me?" Easter Bunny held out her arms, but Roy was now looking around the room at everyone else.

     A human baby's vision would still be blurry, only being able to make out vague shapes and colors unless the face or object was close, but he had no trouble making out the details. His expression said it as plain as any words could; _who_ _ **are**_ _these people?_

     Cori passed him over to the Easter Bunny-an experienced mother herself-and when the Easter Bunny finished cooing over the new arrival she handed him over to Mother Nature.

     "Ohhh, look at this angel...Look at all that _hair!_ " The Nature Goddess looped a tiny curl around her pinkie finger, beaming down at him before smiling at the parents. "He looks like you, Fergus."

     Fergus gave an unenthusiastic nod, which his wife noticed but didn't mention. This got Mother Nature's attention as well, but she kept it to herself for the time being.

     The men were less inclined to fuss over someone they would most likely have as a co-worker, but all in all the new arrival was well received and seemed happy enough to be held by Mother Nature.

     Cupid folded his arms and smirked at Cori. "You know, I remember when _your_ mother introduced _you._ You bopped Sandy here on the snoot."

     Sandman stifled a yawn. " _I_ remember that, too. I wonder if he'll have your right hook."

     "I don't know about _that,_ but he can kick!" She laughed.

     When the meeting came to a close and everyone began to leave, Mother Nature called after the Fairies. "Oh, Tooth Fairy? Can I have a word with you and Fergus?"

     The husband and wife were confused, but they doubled back to see what Mother Nature wanted.

     "What is it, Mother Nature?" Cori asked while Fergus remained tight-lipped.

     "First of all, congratulations. Although I did notice some trepidation on your part, Fergus. Is everything all right?

     Fergus quirked the corner of his mouth in slight annoyance; he'd thought he hid it well. "Everything's fine."

     Mother Nature nodded, but Cori contradicted her husband.

     "Actually...we _are_ a little bit concerned. I remember being teased about my name growing up, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. And Fergus..." She looked at Fergus as if asking permission, but he merely crossed his arms and stayed silent; not forbidding her, but clearly not happy either. "We _both_ got teased, actually. But the baby...His wings are smaller than usual."

     "Oh, I see..." Mother Nature gently laid her palm on Roy's head, and the baby smiled. The poor child had no idea of the hard times he was likely to face, both growing up and as an adult. For now, though, he seemed happy enough, and it was clear to Mother Nature that his parents adored him. Fergus had his own way of showing it, but it the love was there just the same, as it should be. "But he'll have something the other Fairy children _won't_ have."

     "What's that?" They asked.

     "A seat on the Council. And he is most welcome."


	3. Standing His Ground

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cori's mother comes over to visit with her daughter and grandson. Fergus spies an unwelcome visitor approaching his house while working outside, and he rushes to intercept. There is a reason why he's so reserved!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for mention of past abuse.

1501 

     It hardly surprised Fergus when he opened his front door to head out for work, only to find his mother-in-law standing just outside with one fist raised to knock. He often wished she wouldn't drop by unannounced. It used to bother him a lot more early on, because he was not a man who liked unexpected visitors, but he had never confronted her about it and was used to it by now. She was a dear lady, and had always been very kind to him, so he kept his silence on the matter.

     "Oh!" She pulled back her hand, then chuckled apologetically. "Good morning. I was hoping to speak with my daughter and visit with the baby before I go home to rest for the day."

     From inside came the irritated squawk of a very bored Fairy infant.

     "Morning," Fergus gave a rare smile and stood aside to let her in. "She's inside, trying to keep Himself entertained. Now that he's crawling, he's getting into everything."

     Cori's voice reached them from the kitchen. "No-no, darling, that's hot."

     This was immediately followed by the ear-splitting wail of a baby who had not gotten his way.

     Fergus hunched his shoulders and made a slight face, and when his mother-in-law giggled and gave a muttered 'oh my', he nodded his head. "He's fascinated by the fireplace. And on that note, Mother, I bid you good day."

     The Tooth Fairy nodded back, watching her son-in-law leave (or flee) the house to begin his work day. _Always so stiff and reserved...but thank Titania he's nothing like his father!_

     Why she thought of Fergus's father at that moment, she had no idea, but the day's events would leave her wondering if she had been given a flash of foresight.

* * *

     Fergus, who was a tanner by trade, did his work far from his home to keep the unpleasantness away from his wife and son. Cleaning and preparing hides to make leather was a smelly job, but it put food on the table, and he considered it to be an honest living. And, thankfully, Fairy soap was enhanced with magic to make it more effective than anything the humans of this era were using. After a dip in the nearby stream and a change of clothing, he came home every night smelling faintly of sandalwood. And every night, his beautiful wife was there to greet him.

     From where he worked, Fergus could see his small cottage in the distance, but only because he knew what to look for. The home he shared with his wife and baby had been built into a hillside, and if it wasn't for the smoke that billowed up from the concealed chimney, even _he_ would have had trouble spotting it immediately. He glanced in that direction for a moment as he scraped the fur from a deer skin.

     He _really_ didn't know what Cori saw in him. When he first met her, he thought she was the most beautiful creature on two wings, but he had given her no indication that he was interested. And why should she have given _him_ the time of day? He wasn't _nice._ He wasn't _friendly._ He loathed society, and spent most of his time by himself. So, it came as quite a surprise when she marched right up to him ten years ago and introduced herself.

     Fergus knew who she was, of course. The Tooth Fairy bloodline was well known, and this was the daughter of the current Tooth Fairy, but she had introduced herself as 'Cori'. And she had never told him why she approached him that day, nor had he asked her. He was simply glad that she _had_.

     And now, ten years later, they were married and had a child. They were happy...mostly. But there were little things that made him, in his eyes, 'defective'. Nearly all Fairies _enjoyed_ having their wings touched, as long as it was by someone they loved and trusted. It was soothing, in a way, and could sometimes promote better sleep. He _didn't_ like having his wings touched. _At all._ Not even by Cori. And she respected his wishes and avoided them.

     One of his father's favorite punishments when he was young was to grab a wing and twist, and such a thing would cause agonizing pain to _any_ Fairy, even if the person doing the twisting stopped before the point of causing physical damage, which his father usually did. _Usually._ Fergus had learned very early on that if he gave in to tears, whether they were tears of the physical or the emotional, the damage would be much more severe. As such, he had trained himself to be as unemotional as possible, to the point where he now had trouble showing emotions even when he _wanted_ to.

 _Cori_ had reached him. For whatever reason, she had approached him and persisted until she had gotten to know him, and for that he would always be grateful.

     Still...

     Sometimes there were nights when he would get caught up in staring at the glowing coals of the fire, and she would have to call his name a few times before he would hear it and respond. There were nights when he would sit bolt-upright in a cold sweat, with no memory of what he had dreamt about, and she would reach out in her sleep and pat his arm.

     There were times when he would get blindingly angry for seemingly no reason at all, and _these_ were the times when he got very still and silent. When this happened, it was always brought on by the smell of pipe tobacco and liquor. For this reason, he avoided the taverns at all costs, but all it took was passing someone on the street and catching a whiff of where they had been. And his mind would call up the image of a huge, drunken Fairy who smoked a pipe and beat his son just because he _could._

     The man who made his son sleep in the stable, because that was where 'animals' belonged.

     The man with a heart of stone.

     His father.

     Fergus hadn't seen his father in fifteen years, and he didn't care if he never saw him again. So, when he saw a familiar shape flying in the direction of his house, Fergus dropped the skin he was cleaning and stood rooted to the spot in disbelief. _How did he find out where I live?_

     Then he was winging it back to his house, desperate to keep his father from darkening his doorstep and entering his family's life.

* * *

     Fergus swerved in front of his father in mid-air, holding up his hands in a motion that clearly meant 'stop'. And, miraculously, his father did. "That's as far as you go, Brandel."

     Aside from the large red wings they both possessed, there were almost no similarities between father and son. Fergus was large and stocky, but most of his bulk was in his width; he topped out at six feet tall. Brandel was six-foot-seven, and while he had put on a lot of weight, particularly around the middle, he was still just as muscular as ever, and his green eyes were as cold as the North Pole. Brandel's hair had been shaved down to the pate, possibly because of lice, but this was only speculation on Fergus's part, for the man was certainly dirty. And he was _definitely_ drunk.

     "Is that any way to address your father, boy?" Brandel smiled as he hovered in front of Fergus.

     "Why are you here?" Fergus asked coldly. Brandel looked beyond Fergus, looked down at the cottage, and Fergus moved to block his line of sight and glared; he was in no mood for this, nor would he ever be. "Answer me! Why are you here?"

     "I'm here to see my grandson!" Brandel grinned in an effort to seem friendly. "I was offended that I never received a birth announcement, or even an invitation to my own son's wedding, but I'm willing to let that go..."

     The implication was clear; he would only let it go if he was allowed to enter that house and little Roy's life. Fergus saw _red._ "No."

     Brandel slowly tilted his head as if he couldn't believe his ears, and demanded, " _No?_ "

     Fergus's emotional training served him well as he confronted the man who had made his life a living hell. "You're not welcome here. Leave my property at once."

     Brandel hovered closer.

     Fergus did not back down.

     "Who do you think you're talking to, boy?" Brandel sneered. " _I_ am your _father._ I have the _right_ to see my grandson."

     "It's not a right, it's a privilege. One that I haven't extended, nor will I ever. You're not going anywhere _near_ him. You're not going anywhere near my wife. You're not welcome in our lives. Now _go!_ " Fergus fluttered forward a few feet, and his fists began to glow bright red. "Before I _make_ you."

     For a drunken man approaching old age, Brandel was _fast._ He zipped around Fergus and dove towards the cottage, with no solid plan other than to get his way and see his grandson, but Fergus was hot on his heels.

     Fergus snagged the first thing he could reach, and found himself holding one of his father's wings.

_Justice!_

     Or not. Brandel went rigid, as Fairies do when someone holds on to one of their wings, and when his wings stopped flapping he began to fall. His weight dragged Fergus down along with him.

     As much as he hated him, Fergus didn't want to kill his father. A Fairy's life force was tied directly to his or her wings, and Fergus let go of Brandel before following him down as he spiraled towards the ground.

     While Brandel knelt, panting, on the ground, Fergus landed between him and the cottage. "Doesn't feel too good, _does_ it, you old bastard?"

     The next thing Fergus knew, he was rolling in the dirt and wondering how his father could still move fast enough to catch him by surprise. The next few minutes were a blur, but at some point Cori and her mother had come out, and between the three of them they managed to put up enough of a fight to drive Brandel off.

     Cori's mother shook her fist at Brandel's retreating form. " _Mother Nature_ will hear about this! Just you wait!"

     Cori took out a handkerchief to staunch Fergus's nosebleed. "Oh darling, your _nose_ is broken...Come inside!"

     "Wouldn't be the first time," Fergus mumbled, trying to combine the two images of Cori into one. Stupid double vision. Then he grabbed onto her shoulders. "Where's the baby?"

     "He's inside, he's in his cradle," Cori put her arm around his waist and draped his arm over her shoulders. "Come inside. We need to set your broken nose."

     Fergus raised an eyebrow, then did it himself. "No, we don't."

     He went in with them anyway. The nosebleed stopped after a few minutes, and he sat by Roy's cradle and stared at his sleeping son. He reached down with the hand that wasn't bloody, and gently cupped the crown of his son's head in his palm. His boy...His sweet, innocent little boy. "He wanted to see the baby...but by Titania, I'll be _damned_ if I ever let that happen."

     Tooth Fairy watched as her daughter tended to Fergus's injuries, and her heart went out to him. "That coward won't be back today, but I'm not so sure about tonight. The two of you will come and live with me until we can settle the matter."

     Cori blinked up at her mother. "And how will we do that?"

     Tooth Fairy's smile was almost as chilling as Brandel's had been, but for a different reason. Brandel had threatened her family, and she meant to fight this. "I will inform Mother Nature. A threat to any member of the Council is a very serious thing indeed. And this baby _is_ a future member of the Council."

     "No," Fergus shook his head. "I won't be driven from my home. If he comes tonight, or any other night, I'll be ready."

     Tooth Fairy approached, and sat down at the other side of the cradle. "What is more important, Fergus? Your pride, or your son?"

     Fergus had no answer for that, but the way he gently stroked his son's dark brown hair spoke volumes. And he was listening.

     "This is only temporary. A tactical retreat, if you will. Brandel may be counting on you staying here. Or he may have left for good. But how can you possibly know?" Tooth Fairy shook her head. "This is _bigger_ than your ego. Take your family, and come and live with me. Just for now. _Please._ "

     Roy stirred a little in his cradle, rubbing his eye with an uncoordinated little fist, and sighed as he slumbered on.

     Cori put her hand on her husband's arm and gazed up at him, imploringly.

     Fergus finally nodded. "All right...We better pack a few things. Thank you, Mother."

     And, really, Tooth Fairy had been almost like a mother to him from the moment he began courting her daughter. With no natural mother to raise him and an abusive father, it was a wonder that Fergus grew up to be as normal as he was.

     And so, Fergus and his family moved in with the Tooth Fairy.


	4. Moving In With Mom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brandel evades capture for the time being, and Fergus is not happy about it. Mother Nature has a plan, but for now things are at a standstill. Baby Roy does cute baby things. Cori sees in her husband what most people don't see. Hope you enjoy it!

1511, Same Day 

     Brandel landed near a discarded deer skin and kicked it aside as he lumbered unsteadily towards the stream to dunk his head and drink. The surprise beating had served to sober him up halfway, and the cold, clean water did the rest. _Who knew that two tiny women could put up such a fight? And using magic against another Fairy is against the rules, too..._

     And yet, he knew that _he_ had broken the rules by physically accosting his son. As much as he considered Fergus to be an extension of himself, and therefore _his,_ the facts were clear; he knew he had trespassed. It was true that Fergus had gotten physical first, grabbing Brandel by the wing and causing him to seize up and nearly go into a free fall, but given the circumstances, the law would be on Fergus's side. Fergus had acted in defense of his family; Brandel posed a legitimate threat.

     What _had_ Brandel been planning to do? He asked himself this question now, and even _he_ didn't know. He hadn't thought this through at all! In fact, knowing Fergus would be away for the day, he hadn't even planned on running into him. The young wife would open the door, he would talk his way in, and...then what? Kidnap the boy? Brandel was getting old, and he had no use for babies. They couldn't do any yard work, or take care of him; in fact, it would be _Brandel_ who would be obliged to care for... _whatever_ they'd named the brat.

     Brandel looked back the way he had come as something occurred to him, something that, up until now, had seemed very unimportant. _That girl he married...She's the Tooth Fairy's daughter, and bound to be the next Tooth Fairy after her mother croaks. That baby is the next Tooth Fairy after_ _ **her.**_ _A future Legendary Figure. Which means that Mother Nature will be all over this faster'n you can slap a mosquito!_

     For all he knew, she was on her way there now. For all her reputed kindness, Mother Nature was _not_ someone to be crossed! Brandel straightened and fluttered his wings to make sure he was still airworthy. The left one was a bit sore; Fergus had given it quite a twist. Still, he ascended without an issue and flew away. As he flew, his form shimmered and grew transparent until his passage overhead resembled nothing more than a bit of heat distortion. His magic, which was strong and robust despite his age and his love of drink, grew unnoticeable to those who were sensitive to such things.

     For the time being, Brandel withdrew.

* * *

     The Tooth Fairy's small cottage was built inside the hollow trunk of an enormous tree, as many other Fairy dwellings were. Unlike the humans, who preferred to mold the land and its features to suit their own needs and wants, Fairies preferred to work _with_ nature, gaining permission from the spirit of the tree before any construction took place. If the tree's answer was yes, then it was just a matter of using magic to alter the tree without harming it; the Fairy now had a place to live, and the tree had someone to prune back the dead branches and keep an eye out for the ailments that typically affected them, such as fungus or blight.

     Fergus sat on a chair in his mother-in-law's living room, and if his posture was anything to go by, his mood was one of defeat. Cori applied a strong-smelling paste to a cut on his forehead, and although it stung he didn't so much as flinch. He kept his eyes on Roy, who sat on the floor at his feet and played with his boot laces.

     Cori did a double-take when she noticed this. "Fergus, you forgot to take your shoes off. Look, you've tracked dirt inside. Roy, no-no, that's dirty."

     Fergus picked up his son (the boy squealed in displeasure, then quieted down when his father bounced him on his knee) and saw that his clodhoppers had indeed left a trail of footprints that led right to his chair. "Here, you take him. I'll clean it up."

     Tooth Fairy, who had just emerged from her kitchen, put a hand on his shoulder and forced him back down when he began to stand. "You'll do nothing of the sort. Wooden floors are easy to clean. But give me your boots, and I'll put them by the door."

     Fergus knew better than to argue. He unlaced his boots, (well, _boot;_ Roy had managed to untie one of them somehow) and handed them over.

     "Mother Nature is on her way," Tooth Fairy told him as she put his boots off to the side and went to get a broom. "She had to finish a few things before she could come, but she'll be here soon."

     Fergus simply nodded.

     When Mother Nature appeared in the middle of the room without so much as a whisper of warning, they all jumped. Roy seemed to recognize her, because instead of bursting into tears as most babies would do upon being startled, he crowed happily and pointed. Here was the nice lady with the pretty 'hat'!

     Mother Nature smiled at him, then gasped at the sight of Fergus's face. One of the man's eyes was swelling shut, both of them were turning black, and his nose had clearly been broken. There was a cut on his forehead, possibly from a ring Brandel was wearing, or maybe from hitting his head on a rock when he fell. Either way, he was lucky not to need stitches. "Oh my...And your _father_ did this?"

     Fergus snorted, then immediately regretted it. He held his nose for a moment, then replied, "If you mean Brandel, the waste of flesh who begat me, then yes."

     Cori covered Roy's ears and frowned, then put Roy down with the few toys they'd managed to gather in their haste to leave and turned to Mother Nature. "He was demanding to see the baby. I don't know what he would have done if he'd gotten in."

     "I don't think _he_ did either." Tooth Fairy folded her arms. "The man was clearly intoxicated. You could smell it on him. When Fergus tried to bar him from entering the house, they came to blows. It took the three of us to drive him away. Mother Nature, something _must_ be done. Even if this wasn't my own grandson, no child should be exposed to that."

     Mother Nature nodded firmly. "I quite agree. Brandel must _not_ be allowed any sort of contact with this child."

     Fergus nodded, looking like he wanted to be hopeful, but he knew his father. "Well, he won't give up, now that he knows about the baby. What is to be done?"

     Mother Nature tilted her head and appeared to be listening, and all was silent for a few moments. Fergus began to grow impatient. Roy, oblivious to what the 'boring grown-ups' were talking about, was blowing raspberries as he tried to insert his rattle into his belly button.

     Finally, Mother Nature shook her head. "I can't sense him anywhere. He must be masking his magical signature."

     "You can't find some way around it?" Fergus slightly raised his voice, but he still spoke well below a yell.

     "No," Mother Nature folded her hands. "From the time of the beginning, I gave certain races the ability to cloak themselves for safety purposes. I'm obliged to bring Brandel to justice when he shows himself, but I cannot break my own rule."

     "The magical bureaucracy..." Fergus muttered in disgust.

     Mother Nature gave him a hard stare, but she let this slide. Allowances could be made for a frightened husband and father who wanted only the safety of his family.

     Luckily, Fergus saw the look and took the unspoken warning. He didn't apologize, but he lowered his head for a moment, and in Fergus-speak that meant roughly the same thing. "So, our only course of action is to wait until he tries something?"

     "I understand your concern, Fergus, but-"

     Fergus cut her off. "Meaning no disrespect, but no, you don't. You understand _rules_ and _procedure,_ but maybe the rules aren't always right."

     Cori, afraid that her husband would get himself in trouble, tugged on his elbow. "Fergus, please!"

     Tooth Fairy simply watched this exchange, understanding exactly where Fergus was coming from. She was immovable in regards to the Tooth Fairy name, but other than that, she had never cared for many of the rules they had to follow.

     Fergus rolled his eyes. "What will she do to me? I don't agree with her, but she's not Brandel. I have the right to speak, do I not?" He looked to Mother Nature for confirmation.

     "You do," She agreed.

 _Now_ Fergus was almost yelling; he couldn't help it. "Then _tell_ me what I should do! How can I keep my family safe? How can I keep him from going for either of _them_ when they leave for their rounds?" He said 'they' because Cori occasionally had to fill in for her mother. Tooth Fairy was a feisty lady, but at this point it was only a matter of time.

     The Nature Goddess never lost her outward sense of calm. "Effectively immediately, this property is under my protection. Brandel can't cross the border."

     "And if we leave?" Fergus pressed.

     Roy looked up at them, his attention drawn by his father's angry voice, and he looked more surprised than anything else. He offered Fergus his rattle, but Fergus didn't see it, and he scowled and hit his father's leg with it. "Bah!"

     Fergus looked down and dutifully reached for the rattle, but Roy pulled it back and giggled, scooting away on his bottom. The corner of Fergus's mouth twitched in a way that suggested a smile.

     Mother Nature smiled as she watched this. "The baby can't go far, for the time being. My hope is that Brandel will show up, stay in the area long enough to try to find a way in, and be caught. Send a thought my way, and I can be here in an instant."

     Cori nodded, but she was still frightened. "What about Mother? She can't fly very strongly, not after her illness. What if he goes after her while she's away?"

     Tooth Fairy quirked an eyebrow. "I'm right here, daughter. And I'm not as weak as all that. I've got some tricks of my own, as the two of you saw today!"

     Mother Nature kept her amusement in check. "Still, I would advise caution." Roy crawled over to her, rattle in hand, and proudly showed it to her. She smiled and leaned down to see. "Oh, what's this? Is that yours?"

     "Ah!" Roy held out the toy, then pulled it back to his chest when Mother Nature reached for it. He grinned impishly, showing off his two new bottom teeth as the adults (even Fergus) had a quiet laugh over this.

     "His new favorite game is keep-away," Fergus explained.

     Mother Nature chuckled and picked Roy up, and she caught the rattle as he dropped it so that he could inspect her headdress. She patiently allowed this, and steered the subject back to the matter at hand. "When he _is_ caught, he will be permanently banished from the Fairy town.

     Fergus was dissatisfied with this. "Making him the humans' problem..."

     "I didn't realize you held such a soft spot for humans," Mother Nature commented in a subtle tone that hinted that she knew exactly how he felt about that particular race.

     "No more I do, but I wouldn't loose my father on a _dog_ I liked."

     "That's...almost commendable of you," Mother Nature put Roy down. The baby made a questioning noise, then immediately began to cry, his feelings hurt by this sudden 'rejection'. Mother Nature picked him back up again, bouncing him lightly and shushing him. "All right, all right...My goodness, what a fuss. I think someone's tired."

     Roy quieted down, but retained his pout. His nap had been interrupted, which always put his mood on a hair trigger. He shook his head 'no' at the word 'tired'. He couldn't speak yet, but he could understand some of what he heard, and he absolutely did _not_ want to go to bed!

     "For the time being," Mother Nature continued, "this is the best we can do. It'll be all right, Fergus."

     "So, how long will we have to live off my mother-in-law?"

     Tooth Fairy, who was one of the few people who could get away with scolding Fergus and not getting a scathing rebuttal in return, gave her wings an indignant flick. "Fergus, _hush._ You're family, and this is temporary. Don't insult an old lady's hospitality."

     Fergus looked at her as if he were thinking of snapping anyway, but then he sighed. Tooth Fairy didn't look old, nor did she look young. If a human were to try and guess her age, they would be hard pressed to do so, but many would say that she looked like she could be anywhere between forty and sixty. Certainly not older or younger than that. The magic of her job had aged her up, and then it had essentially kept her frozen in time. Still, she was his mother-in-law, and it was very good of her to allow them to stay with her. She was right; he was being rude. "I'm sorry. My father's sudden appearance...I never thought I'd have to see him again."

     Mother Nature nodded. "And with good fortune, you will only have to see him one last time."

     Tooth Fairy patted his arm and went to take the baby from Mother Nature. Roy went to her easily enough, rubbing his eyes and looking grumpy; he _was_ tired, but he was fighting it. "I'll just put this little one down for an...N-A-P." She lowered her voice as she spelled it out. No one needed an explanation for that one!

     Roy glared at his grandmother and said, very clearly, " _No!_ "

     Mother Nature put a hand over her mouth to hide a smile. "And so it begins."

     "Might've known his first word would be 'no'," Fergus grinned. "Time to start censoring myself."

* * *

     That night, long after Tooth Fairy had left for work and Roy had been put to bed, Fergus stood at the guest room window and stared up at the crescent moon. Behind him, Cori got ready for bed, but he simply couldn't relax.

_I'm afraid..._

     Fergus realized this, and he hated such weakness in himself. He was good at hiding it, especially after so much time and practice, but if growing up in that man's house had taught him anything, it was this; tears were a sign of weakness. Anger was power. Stoicism was strength. And hiding was the epitome of cowardice. And yet...

     And yet!

     Fergus was _powerless_ in his anger, to the point where his eyes began to sting with the tears that wanted to gather but wouldn't. He had trained himself too well for that, and this skill that had served him well in the past now left him feeling like a hot coal resided in his chest, with no outlet. Tears made one a target...but weren't they a target either way? If hiding was cowardice, hadn't he been hiding from his father for years? And wasn't his father hiding from them now?

_I don't like the moon tonight._

     Cori, who had just donned a linen nightgown, called to him. "Fergus, come away from the window."

     Fergus gave his large wings a bit of a flutter, the breeze from them lightly stirring the lace curtains. "I was just admiring the moon. And then I thought to myself, it looks like a cruel smile. If he's not here to stand over me and leer...why, the moon does it in his stead."

     Cori came over to him and looked up at the moon. "Is that how you see it?"

     He turned to his wife. "What other way is there?"

     "Well..." Cori rested her hands on the window sill and looked up at the bright slash that hung in the night sky. "It looks more like a clipped fingernail to me."

     Fergus made a slight face. "What?"

     She looked back at him and smiled. "Oh, yes. Or it could resemble a curl of hair, like the ones at the back of Roy's neck. Or your _own_ smile, when someone tells a terrible joke."

     The corner of his mouth quirked, but he fought the smile. "Define terrible."

     Cori gave him a wry look and put a hand on her hip. "How about this; 'If you can think of a better fish pun, let _minnow_ '."

 _That one_ nearly got him, but laughing would have pained his broken nose, and he remembered in time. He smiled, and gently caressed her cheek. "What did I do to deserve you?"

     She put her hand over his and stepped closer. "Many things. And when I asked you to call me 'Cori', you never once questioned it."

     Fergus shook his head and lowered his hand. "But I'm not _good._ I...I wish I was, and I try to be, but...like it or not, I'm my father's son. And I'm trying to be a better father than he was, but Roy's still so young, and it didn't start with _me_ until I was... _Oberon's Teeth,_ Cori, what if I end up hurting _him?_ "

     Cori could see the pain in his eyes, pain he never quite let reach the surface. She knew going into this marriage that there were parts of her husband's mind that she could see but never touch, much like his off-limits wings. She tried to reach him just the same. "You _are_ good. His actions left you with scars, but they don't define you. I've seen you return baby birds to their nests. You gave a homeless human your shoes once. Yes, I saw that. It's the reason why I introduced myself back then; I wanted to know you. And you've always been so gentle with me, and now with Roy."

     Fergus didn't know what to do with this. "But you don't know what I almost did today."

     "Yes, I do," Cori lowered her voice, as if Roy might overhear and understand this from his crib in the adjacent room. "I saw the look on your face today. It wasn't difficult to guess. But you let him live."

     Fergus looked down. "I couldn't...even after what he's done..."

     "I know," She nodded. "And I think I would have thought differently of you if you _had._ We're all made up of good and evil, Fergus. You chose to shun the evil part of you. _He_ embraced it. You chose right, and you can _still_ choose right. You're not him. And he doesn't matter now. He can't come in. We're safe, and our son is safe. That's all that matters."

     Fergus lightly kissed her forehead, then sighed and looked up at the moon. It didn't look so forbidding now. "Come, let's get some sleep while we can."

     "All right," Cori agreed, and they got into bed and shared a goodnight kiss. Fergus held eye contact with her when it ended, and his heart quickened in his chest.

     It had been a long time.

     Roy was asleep. They were alone. They'd had one hell of a scare that day, but aside from his bruises and broken nose they were unharmed. Mother Nature had a solid plan, and they were safe for the moment. What he needed now, what _they_ needed, was closeness. Cori nodded, and they shared an even deeper kiss. Sleep could wait.


	5. Small Changes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy spends time with Dad, and his wings grow out. Brandel is nowhere to be found.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully I'm not too clinical in my description of how Fairy wings work. For future reference, Fairies (in these stories, anyway) reach adulthood at about 100 years of age, and then their aging slows down drastically. Updates for this and "A Strange Bond" will be very slow for a while, I think. Life got busy!

1512, March 

     Fairies might have looked an awful lot like winged humans, but they most certainly were not. As with human children, Fairy children had both growth spurts and periods of time where not much seemed to change at all. For Fairies, aging came to an abrupt halt at around the end of the baby's first year, and for the next year and a half they remained physically the same while their minds continued to expand.

     Aside from his early bout of reflux, and aside from the fact that his first word had been 'no', Roy was generally a cheerful, pleasant baby. There were tantrums, of course; all children had them. Still, he was never put out for long. He _was_ puzzled by his father's strange reticence when compared to his doting grandmother and loving mother, but Fergus still made him feel safe, and he loved to watch him work.

     Fergus often brought him along when there was work to be done in the yard, since his grandmother (and sometimes his mother) slept during the day; babies weren't the quietest of people. And, since Fergus had had to abandon his work as a tanner, he found some purpose in showing his son how things were done and why.

     It fascinated Roy to no end when Fergus, holding him in the crook of his arm, would flutter up with a pair of shears to clip away the dead twigs on the big 'tree house'. Fergus would explain what he was doing, telling him that he might have to do this himself one day. "And we _never_ cut the sticks that have leaves on them."

     Roy was more interested in watching the sticks and twigs drop down to the ground than he was in what his father was saying. For some reason, the sight of them falling to the grass struck him as funny, but at Fergus's last statement he stopped giggling and looked up. In terms of speech and general intelligence, Fairy babies tended to learn at a much faster rate than human babies, and in this Roy was no exception. "Why?"

_Snip, snip._

     "Because they're still growing. Cutting them off hurts the tree. We cut the _gray_ ones. That doesn't hurt the tree at all, and helps it grow better. Here," Fergus hung the shears on the stub of a broken branch that jutted outward from the tree trunk and snapped off a dead twig for Roy to inspect. "Feel how dry that is."

     Roy stuck out a finger and poked at it. He frowned. "Why dry?"

     ' _Because it's dead_ ' was the answer, but Fergus didn't want to get into _that_ conversation today, and so he simplified it a little. "Because the tree is finished with it."

     "Why?"

     "Because." Fergus dropped the twig, and tightened his grip on Roy in case the child lunged to grab it. He didn't.

     Roy stuck his finger in his own nose and asked in a toddler's lisp, "'Cause why?"

     Fergus automatically corrected this action by lightly pushing Roy's hand back down. "Just because. Here, look. See this twig with the leaves?"

     Roy nodded.

     "When they do _this,_ " Fergus gently pushed down on the twig, and it bent instead of breaking. "that means we don't cut it."

     Roy stuck his thumb in his mouth and said nothing.

     "Do you understand?" Fergus asked, thinking he had made things perfectly clear, and feeling quite pleased with his teaching effort. His face fell when Roy merely sucked his thumb and blinked at him. "Hm. Maybe that's a lesson for another day. Here, get your thumb out of your mouth before your grandmother sees it and has a fit. You'll throw your bite off."

     Roy didn't know what 'throw your bite off' meant, but he knew that mouths were not detachable, and even though it wasn't in his father's nature to pull his leg he thought that Fergus just _might_ have done it this once to make him stop sucking his thumb. He _liked_ sucking his thumb, and he saw no reason to quit, so he shook his head and scowled. "Mm-mmm."

     Fergus put on a stern expression, but his voice was more serious than angry. " _Take_ your thumb _out_ of your mouth."

     " _Mm-mmm!_ "

     "Why not?"

     Roy removed his thumb just long enough to speak. "Just because."

     Upon having his own phrase used against him, Fergus knew he had walked right into that one, and he fought to keep from smiling. Positive feedback for blatant sass wasn't the best response, and he mostly succeeded in keeping his stern expression. He decided to just let it go; he didn't feel like arguing with a two-year-old today! "I guess you're too young for it to make a difference yet. Let's go inside and have some lunch."

     Roy had always been a good eater, and he brightened at this. "Yay, lunch!"

* * *

     Storytime with Momma wasn't as comfortable as it used to be. Her belly had gotten very round, and Roy was no longer able to sit on her lap without feeling like he was about to slide off. Or, more recently, without being 'kicked', as Momma had put it. Those weird little nudges made him giggle when he felt them, and his reaction only seemed to trigger more of them, but they made it hard to focus on the stories. Instead, he had taken to cuddling up beside her when it was time for his bedtime story. And this was fine. Nice, even. But the word 'baby' being applied to Momma's belly instead of him? He wasn't exactly _upset_ by this, but he didn't quite _understand_ it either.

     On some nights it was Daddy who put him to bed, and though Fergus did his best, he just _wasn't_ a good storyteller. His 'stories' mainly consisted of him talking about the interactions he'd had during the day, conversations that might or might not be interesting to an adult, but to a toddler? Not so much.

     A neighbor's garden had moles, whatever those were. So what?

     And what did a toddler care about the potato harvest, or how the old codger next door could always tell it was going to rain because his shoulders ached? Yes, mashed potatoes tasted good, and the shoulder thing worked and was a neat trick, but these weren't really _stories,_ were they?

     What about the funny, short-lived humans who couldn't see past the ends of their noses? Now, _that_ was interesting! Fergus didn't seem to like them very much, but Cori had _so_ many human tales to tell him!

     But this night, Momma was working. Gran was tired again.

     And Daddy was worried. Roy wasn't aware of that, however. His back was very itchy, which made it hard to get comfortable. And, to make matters worse, a thunderstorm had rolled in. It began with a distant rumble, but before long it was clear that the storm would pass right over the Fairy town.

     One particularly loud crack of thunder boomed directly above them, and that was all it took before the boy was screaming.

* * *

     Fergus was still awake, unable to relax as the thought of his pregnant wife braving the storm plagued his mind. He was irrationally angry at Tooth Fairy for having gotten ill those few years ago, and he loathed himself for it. He _knew_ it wasn't her fault, just as he knew that his wife was very capable, pregnant or not, but he feared for her and their unborn child just the same.

     A candle burned low on his bedside table, and Fergus stared at it for so long that when he looked away he had a large, purple spot in his field of vision. Worrying wouldn't change what was, he knew, and he had just decided to try again for some sleep when his son's cries had him out of bed in a flash. It wouldn't do to have his mother-in-law wake up, frail as she was becoming, and he knew that most small children needed reassurance during thunderstorms. He went into the adjoining room, gently scooped up his wailing toddler, and brought him back into the room he shared with Cori. "That was a loud one, wasn't it?"

     Roy didn't even realize that his father had spoken, but he knew who had him, and this calmed him somewhat. "Loud, Daddy! _Loud!_ "

     "It _is_ loud. But we're all right." Fergus paced the room with him, patting him on the back and wishing he had Cori's gift when it came to reassuring small children. As much as he loved his son, and he _did_ love him very much, his efforts to be nurturing were clumsy at best. He'd simply had no example growing up, and his father was _still_ missing in action. This would have been a _good_ thing, except not knowing where Brandel was meant not knowing when, if, or from where he would appear next.

     Fortunately, it didn't matter that Fergus couldn't think of anything comforting to say, because two and a half year old Roy wouldn't have been able to absorb it at the moment anyway. Being held by those strong, warm arms went a long way towards helping Roy begin to feel safe, and it wasn't long before the boy had stopped crying and was listening to his father's heartbeat in between thunderclaps.

     "There's a brave boy," Fergus whispered when Roy grew quiet. "No more crying. It's time to sleep now."

     "Nooo..." Roy squirmed, and tried in vain to scratch his own back. He whined in irritation. " _Itchy..._ "

_His wings. Right on schedule, then..._

     Fergus nodded. Roy's wings wouldn't emerge tonight, but it wouldn't be long now. "It'll go away in time. It happened to Daddy, too, when he was your age. And now I have wings. It itches when they're getting ready to come out."

     Roy looked up at his father, then at Fergus's large, red wings with something akin to awe. "Me too?"

     "Yes," Fergus nodded, but not without a twinge of sadness. His son's wings would be perfectly functional, and they would serve him well...but they would still be smaller than normal, and purple to boot. "You'll have wings someday. And it won't itch anymore."

     "Now?" Roy asked, both about his wings and the cessation of that infernal itching.

     "Not yet," Fergus shook his head, "but how about a story?"

     Remembering the dubious quality of his father's stories, Roy's hopeful expression dropped into a comical scowl.

     Fergus laughed quietly in spite of himself. "Right. No story."

     There was another loud clap of thunder, and Roy squeaked and hid his face. "Story, story, story..."

     "Hmm..." Fergus sat down on the edge of his bed and considered for a moment. There was only one story he knew well, as all Fairies did, and this was the story of how the 'Tooth Fairy' came into being. If anyone should know this story, it should be the one who was next in line for the job. "Did you know that there was a time when the Fairies and the humans used to be friends?"

     Roy looked up at his father and shook his head. "But not now?"

     The answer to that question wasn't exactly a 'no'. It was a bit more complicated than that. "Not in the same way as before. We can leave our home and talk to them, because sometimes we need to buy things we can't grow or make here, but when we do this we have to pretend to be humans. Like this..."

     Fergus snapped his fingers, and his wings seemed to disappear. Roy loved that trick, and smiled in spite of his fear of the storm. Fergus snapped his fingers again, and his wings reappeared. "You see...humans don't _have_ magic. At least, not like we do. And a long, long time ago, a few of them learned that they can _steal_ our magic from us. And some of them did."

     This was frightening on a deeply instinctual level, and Roy lost his smile and whispered, "Stealing is bad..."

     "It's very bad," Fergus agreed, nodding solemnly, and he continued, "and one day, King Oberon and Queen Titania decided that the Fairies would leave the human world. So, they gathered their people together...and they made this place. But to keep it hidden from the humans, they needed some very _special_ magic."

     There was another rumble of thunder, but Roy never even noticed. The thunder was getting further and further away, and this was getting interesting. What was this special magic his daddy was talking about?

     "When humans are very small...when they're children, just like you...they have a special kind of magic that lets them see and believe the things most grown humans can't. And as they grow, that magic slowly leaves them." Fergus found it easier to tell this story as he went on. Perhaps getting started was the hard part.

     "Why?" Roy asked.

     "Well...every race, from humans to Fairies, from Elves to Sprites, gets two sets of teeth in their lifetime. We lose our baby teeth as we grow up, and our adult teeth grown in. And every time a human loses one of their baby teeth, they lose a tiny bit of that special magic." Fergus paused to let this sink in.

     "Why?"

     "I don't know," Fergus shrugged. "It's just the way it is. But King Oberon chose a Fairy woman to fly out and collect those baby teeth, so that the magic could be used to hide this place from the humans. That woman was your many-times great-grandmother."

     "Ohhh," Roy nodded as if this made sense to him. And it did, at least a little. But this ancestor really didn't mean anything to him, because he had no idea who she was. "Why hide?"

     "So that the humans can't steal our magic. Remember?"

     Roy nodded.

     "Well...one day, Mother Nature noticed that the Fairies had all but disappeared from the Earth, at least from what she could see. And there was a place... _this_ place...that she could no longer 'see'. So, one night she caught the Tooth Fairy by gently holding on to one of her wings..." Fergus reached up and made as if to lightly grab his own wing to demonstrate, but lowered his hand again. Even _he_ couldn't bring himself to touch his own wings. "...and asked her where all the others were. And the Tooth Fairy told her what they had done. Well, Mother Nature saw the wisdom in this, and things went on like that for a very long time."

     "Why?"

 _Why, why, why...At least I know the answer to this one!_ "Because it worked. This place stayed hidden, and we live _near_ the humans, but not _with_ them. But something unexpected happened."

     "What?" Roy sat up, more awake than ever. This story didn't make him sleepy like Momma's did, probably because Daddy didn't have the 'soothing tones' way of telling it, but it _was_ a good one.

     Fergus smiled a little. "The humans began to notice what was happening with their baby teeth. One family decided to get to the bottom of things. And one night, after their daughter lost her third tooth, the parents stayed up to watch what would happen. And when a woman with wings on her back came inside and tried to leave with the tooth, the trap was sprung. But these weren't _bad_ humans, and they didn't hurt the Tooth Fairy when they caught her. They asked her who she was and what she was doing there, and after the Tooth Fairy told them a _little_ bit of the truth, but not _all_ of it, they let her go."

     "Gran?" Asked Roy.

     "No," Fergus shook his head. "Not Gran, but _her_ Gran. And that human child told her friends about the Tooth Fairy. And they told _their_ friends. Time passed, and a new legend began among the humans."

     "A wha'?"

     Fergus gave a tolerant smile; he was used to the interruptions of a curious toddler by now. "A _legend._ A special story, I guess you could call it. Humans told their children that if they put a baby tooth underneath their pillow, the Tooth Fairy would come and leave a coin in it's place. Because it's very rude to take someone's magic, even if they don't need it anymore or even know about it, and not give them something in return. We, as Fairies, _always_ honor this rule."

     Roy nodded solemnly and repeated, "Stealing is bad."

     "Mm-hmm. And Mother Nature approached the Tooth Fairy, and asked her if she wanted to join the Council of Legendary figures. She said yes. And from that day onward, the first child born to the Tooth Fairy would become the new Tooth Fairy. Momma will be the Tooth Fairy after Gran...and you will be the Tooth Fairy after Momma. And did you know that you'll be the first boy to do that?" Fergus asked.

     Roy shook his head, and now he was frowning. "Don't wanna."

     "Oh?" Fergus tried not to show his own misgivings. "What do you want to do instead?"

     "Play!" Roy grinned.

     Well, of course.

     Fergus nodded. "You can do that, too, sometimes. But right now, it's time to go to sleep."

     The child protested. "But...more story!"

     "The story is over, though. And it's getting late. The storm is far away now. And Daddy's very tired." Fergus tried to reason with him.

     " _I'm_ not."

     "Well, I am." Fergus blew out the candle and settled down to sleep, shifting his wings a bit so that the lower one stretched out behind him on the mattress. "Just lie down. You don't have to sleep."

     Roy did as he was told, determined not to fall asleep. He was snoring three minutes later.

* * *

     As the days passed, Roy began to grow lethargic, and his itchy back was making it nearly impossible to sleep. Fergus and Cori were not alarmed by this, as it was a perfectly normal (if uncomfortable) part of Fairy childhood, but they brought him to see Dr. Tanin, just to make sure everything was as it should be.

     Dr. Tanin lifted the back of Roy's shirt, and nodded at what he saw. The developing purple wings no longer looked like a tattoo, and stood out in sharp relief against the smooth skin that covered the rest of the child's back. The skin that covered the wings themselves had grown thick and tough, and was transparent like an empty butterfly cocoon. There was a small, raised 'hill' underneath these wings, which was a muscle group that no human possessed, but that the Fairies needed in order to fly.

     "Excellent. Your son's wings should emerge within the next few days," Dr. Tanin smiled at the couple, who smiled back and exchanged a relieved look. "When this happens, he'll fall into a deep sleep, and you won't be able to wake him from it. This is perfectly normal, and all you need do is be there when he awakens."

     "How long does it usually take?" Asked Cori.

     "Anywhere from four to six hours is the average amount of time, but twelve hours is not unheard of. Given the small size of your son's wings, you can expect it to take less time. He _will_ be thirsty when he wakes up, and he might be a little disoriented at first." Dr. Tanin explained as he handed Roy back to his mother. "Waking up with two more limbs than you went to sleep with is a big change to get used to. Most of us can't remember back that far, but those of us who can will tell you that a positive attitude is very reassuring. If you treat this like it's something that should be celebrated, because it is, the change will be a lot easier for him."

     Cori smiled. "I vaguely remember waking up with mine. It _was_ a bit of a shock. Do you remember getting yours, Fergus?"

     Fergus shook his head. "No, I don't remember anything from when I was that young."

     Roy squirmed and tried to reach his back to scratch it, then gave up and began to cry out of frustration.

     Dr. Tanin shook his head in sympathy. "In the meantime, there are methods to help relieve some of the itching. A poultice of oatmeal is quite effective."

     Fergus smirked. "We only just got him to stop making a mess with his breakfast, and now we're rubbing it on his back?"

     "Essentially, yes." Dr. Tanin chuckled. "The important thing is to keep him comfortable. He won't want to move very much, so you won't have to worry about keeping him still. Will they, little man?"

     "Itch..." Roy whimpered. He didn't know what the grown-ups were talking about, and he didn't care. He just wanted relief!

     Cori lightly swayed her body as she held him close and rubbed his back, the friction of this actually helping somewhat with the itch. "I know, darling. Let's go home, and we'll see what we can do."

* * *

     It happened three nights later, when everyone else was asleep. Roy had taken to sleeping without his shirt on for comfort, and when Cori came to wake him up in the morning she received a surprise.

     Roy lay curled up on his side, cuddling the blankets to his chest. Bits of hard, clear material were strewn about on the mattress behind him. A cute little pair of jewel-like purple wings, already dry and fully extended, adorned his back. As expected, they were smaller than one would normally find on a Fairy boy, but to Cori they were _perfect._

     "Fergus? Fergus, come and see! Bring some water." Cori called, her voice pitched low in a loud whisper.

     Roy twitched at the sound of his mother's voice, and at his father's answering footsteps. Something didn't feel right. His head ached only slightly, and his tongue was stuck to the roof of his dry mouth. He smacked his lips and opened his eyes. His back didn't itch anymore, but as he stretched and tried to fully wake up, he felt...

     What _was_ that?

     His wings gave an awkward, out of synch flap, which startled him. Unnerved, he reached for his mother. "Momma..."

     Cori smiled and picked him up. "Well, _good morning._ Look, darling, you got your wings! See?"

     She pointed at the mirror, and Roy turned his head to look. They weren't big like Daddy's, but they were there, and he could move them if he chose to; he gave it a try, and his little wings gave a triumphant buzz. He smiled up at his parents, still a little groggy, and accepted the cup of water when his father offered it.

     "It'll be time for flying lessons soon," Fergus told Cori, picking the last few bits of chrysalis from his son's bare back. This didn't cause any pain, and Roy ignored it as he quenched his thirst.

     Now that Roy's magic wasn't focused entirely on growing his wings, _he_ would begin to grow again, but at a much slower rate than before. He and the new baby would end up looking like they were the same age in a few years.

_Two young children running and flying around. I hope Cori and I have the energy for this, because it's happening. And it's happening so fast._


	6. Flying Lesson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fergus is unintentionally sexist and makes one of his biggest parenting snafus, although this won't be apparent for quite some time. Roy reluctantly starts his flying lessons, with some amusing results.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slightly shorter chapter than I would usually post, but I wanted to focus on one thing at a time here. Fergus and Cori are usually on the same page, but as you can see, they're not perfect. Then again, who is? XD

September 12th, 1513 

     Flying lessons didn't happen as soon as Fergus and Cori had hoped. Roy, who had gotten overly excited and tried out his new wings on the first day before his parents could stop him, had ended up careening into a wall. He'd screamed bloody murder, and it soon became clear that he was more frightened than hurt, but after that he simply refused to try at all. For the next six months, whenever Daddy would bring up flying lessons, he would either pretend he didn't hear or vehemently protest until Momma gave him his way. 'He's not ready,' his mother had said, and he quite agreed.

     Fergus didn't like it when Cori undermined his authority, and he was not the most patient man in the world, but he had been extremely patient with Roy, all things considered. He understood why the boy was scared, and he _did_ sympathize. Still, the time had come. Fairy pregnancies generally lasted twenty-four months, as opposed to the humans' nine, and they were every bit as uncomfortable. Perhaps even more so, though neither race could make that comparison.

     Now, with Cori's due date looming, Fergus's patience had run out. He might not _have_ the time to properly teach their son when there was a new baby to care for, and he wanted to avoid another accident. If Roy didn't know how to fly by the time his new sibling was born, Fergus might not be able to intervene in time if another flying attempt went awry. With flying, the best way to learn it was to do it, and to have someone there to catch.

     Roy looked back and forth as his parents argued across the breakfast table, poking disconsolately at his scrambled eggs.

     "Cori, he's three years old. Most of us are flying within a week or two of getting our wings, and it's already been six months," Fergus declared, unwilling to back down this time. He reached across the table and poured himself some water from the pitcher. Then, trying to be mannerly, offered it to his wife instead. Cori waved it away, and he took a long drink.

     "But he's scared," Cori protested, "If you force him, he might end up _hating_ it."

     "Nonsense," He snorted. "Our people don't hate flying."

     Roy _didn't_ hate flying, as long as he was a passenger. What he didn't particularly care for was _crashing._ He had already made his opinions clear, and he saw no reason to butt in and repeat himself. Besides, Daddy hated to be interrupted, and could be a bit gruff when this happened.

     Cori frowned. Her mood swings hadn't been bad, but she was more inclined to insist on having her way, and she did so now. "Fergus...I'm his mother, and I don't want him to learn before he's ready."

     Fergus steadily met her gaze. "Well, I'm his father, and _I_ don't want him growing up to be a nervous tumblebug. Being afraid of something you have to do doesn't let you off having to do it, and the sooner he learns this the better. Now, I won't be harsh with him, and I won't let him fly into a wall this time. You just trust me and let me handle this. Go put your feet up."

     Fergus had meant to sound reasonable and supportive, but as sometimes happened, he come off in an entirely different way than he meant to.

     "Well!" Cori took her napkin off her lap and dropped it on the table, sweeping out of the room as gracefully as her pregnant belly would allow. She saw the truth in his words, and she knew her husband hadn't meant to sound like he was patronizing her. Still, his slightly condescending tone, however unintentional it had been, had irked her. Rather than use scathing language around their son, she absented herself from the table.

     Roy wanted his mother to take him with her, but this was not to be. He pushed the cold lumps of scrambled egg around his plate and looked up at his father. "You in trouble, Daddy?"

     "No more than usual," Fergus hunched his shoulders as the bedroom door slammed. Then, seeing what his son was doing, he clicked his tongue in disapproval. "Don't play with your food, son. Are you going to finish it?"

     "It's cold," Roy complained.

     "That's because you let it sit there for too long." Fergus clumsily ruffled his boy's hair, and Roy smiled in spite of himself. "You know, you shouldn't waste food. It's Mother Nature's bounty."

     Roy squinted. "What's a 'boundy'?"

     "Never mind. If you're not going to eat, it's time for your first flying lesson."

     Roy liked scrambled eggs, but he didn't care for them when they were cold. Still, he dutifully began to eat, drawing it out for as long as possible, until he reluctantly put the last bite into his mouth. He chewed slowly, and probably more than was necessary, but he soon realized that this stalling tactic was futile. He swallowed the mouthful of liquid scrambled eggs and tried one more time to forestall the inevitable. "Daddy?"

     "Yes?"

     "I don't _wanna_ learn to fly."

     Fergus was ready for this. Calmly, he cleared his son's plate and began to wash the dishes. "That's all right. You don't have to want it. But it's still going to happen."

     " _Nooo!_ " Roy whined, tears impending.

     Fergus froze as a long forgotten memory surfaced. He remembered how his own father had reacted when he had been the one in Roy's shoes. Fergus had whined about something, and...

_Pain._

     That was all he remembered. Pain in his back, brought on by the wrenching twist of a wing. The almost electric shock of his magic surging to mend the damage. Fergus would never have done such a thing. _Never._ But it wasn't the sound of the whining that bothered him, nor his son's disobedience. It was the fact that whining and crying might make Roy a target someday. After all, it had happened to _him,_ and the who had done it was his own flesh and blood. His son wouldn't face such a thing, not if he had anything to say about it. This behavior had to be nipped in the bud, and _quick._

     He hastily dried off his hands and turned to face his son again, his expression as serious as Roy had ever seen it, and he put a finger to the boy's lips. Roy was so surprised by this that he immediately fell silent. Fergus lowered his finger. "Listen to me. Are you listening?"

     Roy gulped, then nodded.

     Fergus lowered his voice to impart what he thought was a very important life lesson. " _No more crying._ You're getting too old for that. You're going to be a man someday, and men don't do that. The other boys will tease you for it. Crying is something only girls and women do, and the sooner you realize that, the less trouble you'll have later on. Do you understand?"

     Roy _didn't_ understand, but he nodded anyway, swallowing his tears.

     Fergus's eyes softened as he tried to ignore his own misgivings. On one hand, he was the father, and he had the final say in what was what. On the other hand, was he expecting too much from such a young child? He thought that, maybe, he was. But he couldn't go back on his word once he had put his foot down. This would only cause confusion.

     "I know you're only three years old. But you won't be three years old forever. Momma and I won't always be able to pick you up and carry you. And you're going to have a new brother or sister soon, so we'll be busy with the baby." Fergus picked Roy up out of his chair and sat him on the edge of the table. "And we'll need your help."

     " _My_ help?" Roy pointed to himself, his eyes widening. Up until now, all he'd been told was that he'd have someone new to play with. But the idea that his parents might actually need his help? The concept of his parents needing _anything_ from him was a foreign (and rather interesting) concept.

     "Of course," Fergus said this as if it should have been obvious. "You're going to be a big brother. That's an important job."

     "Wooooowww." Roy's eyes practically had stars in them. Him? _Important?_

     "But you won't be able to do it so well if you can't fly. Did you know that?"

     And just like that, the starry-eyed look was replaced by a ferocious toddler scowl.

     "But _why,_ though? Why do I gotta _fly_ to be a big brother? I can walk!" Roy folded his arms and pooched out his lower lip.

     Fergus didn't have an answer planned, and couldn't think of one on the spot, so he deflected. "Now, I'm going to back up a bit. I want you to come over to me." And he did so.

     Roy scooted along the tabletop and reached for his chair, but Fergus shook his head.

     "No, let the chair alone."

     Roy looked up at Fergus with a calculating frown, then reached for the chair again. He defiantly climbed down and marched over to glower up at his father.

     Fergus simply picked him up and put him back on top of the table, and he moved the chairs away for good measure.

     " _Daddyyy!_ "

     Fergus shook his head. "No, I want you to try. You'll have to learn someday. You don't want to be stuck on the ground forever like a human, do you?"

     "I _like_ humans!" Roy folded his arms again.

     "You've never even _met_ one," Fergus was mildly exasperated now.

     "Don't care. Like 'em anyway."

 _You wouldn't like them if you knew what they were capable of._ Seeing that this tactic wasn't working, Fergus tried something else. "Besides, flying is _fun._ If you don't learn how, you'll miss out on something great."

     Roy wasn't convinced. Flying was fun, huh? Sure. Right. You betcha. Just like lima beans were good, and if he didn't let Momma clean behind his ears he'd accumulate enough dirt back there to grow potatoes. Grown-ups must really think that children were pretty stupid to believe such nonsense. Potatoes were too big to fit behind a person's ears, and lima beans made him want to throw up. And flying...

     But when his parents carried him with them when _they_ flew, he _did_ enjoy it. And to be able to do it himself? His wings gave an involuntary flutter, but he immediately stopped when Fergus mistook the action and tried to encourage him.

     "That's it. Now, fly to me." Fergus got ready to catch.

     Roy looked away. Could he do this? "I don't wanna fall..."

     "I won't let that happen. Fly to Daddy, and he'll catch you."

     Roy bit his lip. He wished now that he hadn't finished his breakfast; his tummy hurt. Looking up at Fergus, he saw the big hands outstretched, fingers splayed, ready to catch. He remembered how safe he felt when he was being carried in those arms. Roy scooted back and got to his feet, swaying a bit with vertigo as he looked down at the floor.

     "Don't look at the floor; look at me. You can do it."

     Yeah...yeah, he could do this! Roy clenched his fists and jumped...but he forgot to pump his wings, and Fergus quickly lurched forward and caught him. "I can't _do_ it..."

     "Yes, you can," Fergus held him close, patted his back, then put him back on the table.

     "But _Daddy..._ "

     "What did you forget?"

     Roy stared at him, uncomprehending, and Fergus fluttered his own wings in a not-so-subtle hint. Roy gasped, then laughed at his own blunder. "Oh!"

     "All right, let's give it another try," Fergus backed up and beckoned with both hands. "Flap your wings, and let them carry you to me."

     Roy clenched his fists again, and made a run for the edge of the table, but he lost his nerve at the last second and stopped. He pinwheeled his arms for balance, and his wings buzzed in alarm. The next thing he knew, he was sailing upwards at a diagonal, and Fergus dodged to his right and caught him.

     "There, you see? You did it!" Fergus beamed, a rare expression on his square-jawed face.

     Roy gasped and fluttered his wings. "I did?"

     "It was a bit clumsy, but you did it. Want to try again?"

     " _Yeah!_ "

     Fergus put Roy back on the table and backed up a little bit further. Now that his son had some confidence, his flight path should, in theory, be straight and true.

     Roy shifted from foot to foot, getting ready. He fluttered his wings slowly, then with greater speed; his bare feet soon left the varnished wood of the table, and he wobbled a bit as he hovered in place for a moment. His wings, so tender and unused to supporting his slight weight, immediately felt the strain of it. Even so, they continued to support him and would only grow stronger with time. With the proudest grin Fergus had ever seen on his little face, he flew to his father and wrapped his arms tightly around his neck. "I _did_ it!"

     "I knew you could. Come, let's go tell Momma. That'll make her happy again."

* * *

     Fergus knocked softly on the bedroom door, and when Cori told him to come in he put Roy down. He whispered in the boy's ear, and opened the door.

     Roy flew across the room to land clumsily on the bed beside his mother, fairly deafening his parents with his joyful shriek of, "MommaMommaMomma, I _did_ it! I 'flewed'!"

     Cori's initial reaction was a delighted smile, but as she hugged her son close she found herself near tears. "And I _missed_ it...Oh, Fergus, why didn't you come and get me?"

     "I..." Poor Fergus was utterly dumbfounded, and he didn't realize what he had done wrong, or if he had done anything wrong at all. "Technically, you didn't miss his _first_ flight..."

     "Fergus..."

     "I'm sorry, Cori...I wasn't thinking."

     Cori sat Roy beside her on the bed and smiled again. She couldn't wait until this baby was born and her mood could go back to normal; her feelings were so mixed and muddled lately! "No, I'm sorry. I'm just very tired today. Roy, Momma's _very_ proud of you."

     Roy smiled a little and nodded, but then frowned when Cori got a slightly pained look on her face and held her round belly. "Momma? Your tummy ache?"

     Cori tried to smile reassuringly, then looked up at Fergus.

     Fergus had been through this once before, but he paled. "Is it time? Should I get the midwife?"

     "Time for what?" Roy asked. It couldn't be _breakfast_ time, because they had just eaten.

     Cori distractedly stroked his hair as the pain ebbed. "I'm not sure yet."

     A few hours later, she was _most definitely_ sure.


	7. Angry Potato Person

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy meets his new baby sister and goes through the adjustment period of no longer being the baby of the family. Gran intervenes after a minor accident involving a toy bird and a broken vase, and they have a little chat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The name 'Siobhan' is pronounced 'shiv-on', and she and Connor are a couple of Roy's childhood friends. They're only mentioned here, though, and won't show up in person until later.

September 12th, 1513 

     Gran was awake much earlier in the day than she usually was, and she stayed inside with Momma while he and Daddy waited outside. Two other ladies had arrived, and when Roy tried to follow them in they gently shooed him out.

     This hurt his feelings immensely! This was _his_ house, and it was _his_ momma who was sick in bed! Whatever it was they were doing to her up there sometimes made her holler; he could hear it from outside. But Daddy had told him that crying was for babies, and he was _not_ a baby! So, what could he do if he wasn't allowed to cry?

     He could get angry.

     "Daddy?"

     "Yes?" Fergus looked up from the game of X's and O's he had been playing with his son, with limited success; each of them had a stick to draw with in the dust, and three-year-olds sometimes forgot the rules.

     "I want those ladies to go away." Roy folded his arms and scowled at the closed front door.

     Fergus, who had no siblings, looked from Roy's face to the house, then back to Roy. "Why?"

     "'Cause they're hurting Momma, and they won't let me inside!" Roy flung down his stick. "They're _mean!_ Make 'em to go away!"

     "Ah," Fergus hid a smile and went from sitting on his knees to sitting cross-legged. He patted his knee, and Roy came over to sit. "They're not _really_ mean, they just have a job to do. So does Momma."

     "They're _mean,_ " Roy insisted.

     Fergus didn't argue. Instead, he thought of a family visit they had taken when he felt it was safe enough; they hadn't heard from Brandel since that day when Roy was only a year old, and Fergus was beginning to think the man was dead. "Do you remember when our neighbor Anwell had us over for the afternoon, and his cat had her kittens while we were visiting?"

     Roy shrugged. He _did_ remember, at least a little bit. But it had been icky, and he hadn't wanted to watch. Instead, he, Connor, and little Siobhan had gone off to play. Later on, the kittens had turned into cute little fluff balls, and the children had enjoyed holding them until the mother cat became nervous. Then Anwell told them it was time to give the kittens back to their mother, and Roy's mother had said it was time to go home.

     "Well, that's what Momma's doing right now."

     Roy frowned as he worked this out in his head, then went wide-eyed when he came to the wrong conclusion. "Momma's having _kittens?!_ "

     Fergus laughed. A great, rolling guffaw shook his frame and nearly caused him to tilt over backwards. His reaction was caused by equal parts of tension and amusement, and he couldn't help it.

     "Stop laughin' at me!" Roy vaulted off of his father's lap, greatly offended, and deliberately smudged the game of X's and O's with his foot to ruin it.

     Fergus didn't chastise him for this, and quickly got his mirth under control. "Sorry, son. That...haha...I didn't mean to laugh at you. And no, Momma isn't having kittens. She's having a _baby._ And those ladies are here to help her because it's hard work."

     "Oh..." The child played with the hem of his shirt, still clasping the stick in his other hand as his stunted purple wings moved in idle thought. "But why do they get to go in, and we don't? We _live_ here."

     Fergus's cheeks turned red, and he cleared his throat. "Um...well..."

     Roy remembered the kittens being born, and something clicked. "Oh! Is it 'cause the baby comes out of-"

     " _Shh,_ " Fergus said quickly, turning redder than ever. "Yes. But it's not for men to see."

     "But you said it's-"

     "Natural, yes, it is. So is going to the privy, but we do that alone when we're old enough to not need help, right?" Fergus wished Cori was there to explain it!

     "Ohhh," Roy nodded, not fully understanding how these two activities were in any way connected, but he understood the concept of privacy. And, since his father had said his mother needed help, he didn't ask why the ladies were there. But he _did_ have another question. "How did Momma _get_ her baby?"

     Now, _this_ was a conversation that Fergus _definitely_ wasn't ready to have! He drew another grid on the ground. "I'll tell you when you're older. Want to go first?"

     "Yeah!"

* * *

     Dinner had been brought outside to Roy and Fergus; cold sandwiches, which neither of them complained about, and a pitcher of water. Gran left for work when it began to get dark.

     Fergus sat on a large rock with Roy perched on his knee. He seemed unusually tense and anxious, and this scared Roy a little bit. His father kept a lot to himself, but those little glances up at the curtained bedroom window whenever a muffled cry reached their ears spoke volumes.

     "Did Momma yell a lot when I came out?"

     "I don't remember," Fergus lied.

     "Yeah, you do. You said it's bad to fib!" Roy wagged a disapproving finger before looking sad. "Did I hurt Momma?"

     Fergus had to smile at that. "Your momma _wanted_ you, just as she wants this baby. She knew it would hurt, but she chose to go through it anyway. And when she had you in her arms, she forgot about the pain and was happy."

     "Hmph..." Roy rubbed his knee, which he had scraped rather badly. "My knee still hurts, and it happened _years_ ago."

 _Ah, a child's gift for exaggeration._ "That happened two days ago, and you didn't have something good when it was done."

     "Momma gave me a sweet," Roy pointed out, remembering the delicious sugared dates his mother occasionally gave him for being a brave boy.

     "Well...a baby is a _little_ like a sweet, only better." Fergus explained. "Because you have a whole new person to get to know. A person you and your wife made together."

     "Not me! Girls are _icky!_ " Roy stuck out his tongue.

     Fergus chuckled. "See if you feel the same way in fifty years. That's when we usually begin to see them differently."

     Roy wasn't convinced, but before he could argue another scream filtered through the closed window. He buried his face in his father's chest and tried very hard not to cry. Rather than scold him, Fergus rubbed his back until he fell asleep.

* * *

     Roy's sister was born just before midnight, bringing a day of chaos and confusion to an end. The boy awoke to his father accidentally jostling him as he got to his feet, and he blinked owlishly at the woman who had disturbed them. It was one of the ladies from before, and she was smiling.

     "What is it?" asked Fergus, seeming to have forgotten that his son was there, even though he was holding him.

     "It's a girl. Mother and daughter are doing just fine." replied the midwife before turning to Roy, who still wasn't sure if he liked her or not. "You have a sister, little one."

     "I'm not little; I'm a _big boy._ " Roy scowled, an expression which only deepened when both adults chuckled at him.

     "My apologies, sir!" she curtsied and motioned for them to go inside.

     Roy craned his neck to look behind him as Fergus carried him up the stairs, taking them two at a time. He didn't know what he expected to see, having never seen a newborn Fairy before, but he was confused when all he saw was a balled-up blanket and a shock of dark brown fuzz.

     It turned out that the fuzz was his sister's hair, and she was swaddled up and fussing in Cori's arms. Fergus put him down and joined Cori at the other side of the bed, and Roy grew impatient. He bounced on the balls of his feet, his hands resting on the side of the bed. "I wanna see, I wanna see!"

     "Shhh, you'll frighten her. Here she is," Cori smiled tiredly, turning the bundle slightly so that they could see better.

     Well, the baby did not like this at all! She had just begun to calm down from her ordeal of being born into a cold world and getting bathed in water that could have been warmer, and now that she had _finally_ gotten warm and comfortable again she was being _moved!_ Red-faced and squalling, she clenched her fists and squirmed.

     Fergus kissed Cori's forehead, and there was some murmured conversation, but Roy wasn't paying attention to what the grown-ups were doing. He reached out and tickled the baby's chin, which she either didn't notice or didn't like; the wailing continued. "You look like an angry potato."

     " _Roy..._ " Fergus looked appalled, but Cori giggled.

     "What? She does!" Roy had no idea what he had done wrong, but it seemed he wasn't really in trouble, because there was no lecture.

     "She's had a long day," Cori told him, "We both have. Roy, this is your little sister, Brinna."

     "Hi, Brinna!" he grinned, but the baby wasn't appeased.

     "Perhaps she's hungry," Fergus suggested.

     "I tried, but she's too agitated to nurse," Cori told him.

     Roy didn't know what that meant, but he knew that sometimes sucking his thumb made him feel better. He took Brinna's wrist with a gentleness neither of his parents expected, and brought the baby's fist to her mouth. At first she continued to fuss, but when it registered that there was something in her mouth she quieted down and began to suck.

     "Alllll better," he crooned, as his mother sometimes did for him when she bandaged his scrapes. His parents thought this was amusing, but he whispered in her ear, "Grown-ups don't know _anything._ "

     Brinna opened her eyes and stared up at the face that was still very young, but was older than hers. Then she smiled. He smiled back.

     The two partners in crime had officially met.

* * *

September 26th, 1513 

     But sibling hijinks were well in the future. It wasn't long before Roy learned that the entire dynamic of his household had changed. The baby woke him up at night with her cries, and Momma didn't have as much time for him as she did before. She was always too busy nursing the baby (Roy learned what that meant fairly quickly, and simply accepted it as a natural thing that happened), or changing the baby, or resting. He had to be very quiet, or he would wake the baby.

     He couldn't pick the baby up because he was too small, and his parents were afraid he'd drop her; he had to be sitting down if he wanted to hold her, and one of the adults would lay her on his lap. 'Two hands!' they said, fretting as if he didn't know what he was doing. 'Support her head!' He knew, he knew!

Brinna didn't really do much, he found out. When she wasn't sleeping (which she _was_ most of the time), she was crying or eating. Sometimes she would be awake and quiet, but she would just... _lie there._ To make matters worse, Momma had cried when he told her that babies were 'boring', and Daddy had scolded him. He had only told them the truth! He hadn't meant to hurt Momma's feelings!

     Dinner would sometimes be a bit late, because Daddy, who now cooked most of the meals because Momma would be doing all the Tooth Fairy work someday, was too busy helping Momma with the baby.

     The baby, the baby, the baby!

     One day, when Brinna was two weeks old, Roy was playing with a toy bird his father had brought home for him. He ran from one end of the house to the other, holding the bird above his head so that the wind from their passing made the wings flap, and he wasn't paying special attention to the objects in his path. During one of his trips past a small decorative table, one of the bird's wings caught the edge of a porcelain vase, which his father had given his mother on her birthday.

     The vase wobbled, and Roy watched in horror as it seemed to fall in slow motion, shattering on the floor and spilling water and dandelions (which he had picked for her that morning) everywhere.

     Brinna heard the sound from upstairs, and she _wailed._

     Cori took one look at the vase, heard her daughter's cries, and began to weep as well. Gran had called her moods 'the baby blues', whatever that meant.

     "Roy!" Fergus boomed as he went to console his wife. "What have I told you about running in the house! Now you've made the baby cry, and you've broken your mother's favorite vase!"

     Roy dropped the wooden bird and looked down at his shoes. Tears filled his eyes, and his lower lip quivered. Daddy didn't want him to cry anyore, and if he did that he'd be in even worse trouble! But he couldn't help it. Fergus was speechless when he bolted from the room with an anguished wail, but Gran certainly wasn't.

     "Fergus, you _frightened_ him! He's only a child." The Tooth Fairy scolded, "It was an _accident._ "

     Cori was torn; which child should she tend to?! The baby had been frightened, and she needed her. But her son hadn't intentionally misbehaved, and now he was upset too!

     Fergus put a hand to his wife's back and guided her towards the stairs to see to Brinna. "Give me a minute, and I'll talk to him."

     "Why don't you let me try first?" suggested Tooth Fairy, getting to her feet with a slight groan as she held her back. "I'll let him know you're not angry. _If_ that's the case..."

     Fergus didn't like it when his mother-in-law meddled in his parenting, but he knew that Roy hadn't meant to break the vase or scare the baby, just as he himself hadn't meant to yell at the boy. He gave a terse nod as his wife climbed the stairs. "I'll, um...I'll be down in about ten minutes."

     Tooth Fairy followed her grandson without a backwards glance at her son-in-law, who hung his head before trudging up after Cori.

* * *

     Tooth Fairy went into the kitchen and saw all of the pots and pans strewn across the floor. She heard muffled whimpers coming from the cabinet, and she realized that her grandson had cleared out a place to hide himself. Apparently, he didn't think that the pots and pans would give away his location. Either that, or he didn't care.

     A sad smile crossed her face as she navigated the obstacle course. She didn't have to gather up her skirts, because Fairy women generally didn't wear them. If anyone on the ground happened to look up, a dress would actually be rather immodest, so most Fairy women wore trousers like the men unless they went out among the humans with their wings magically hidden.

     She grabbed a cookie from the jar on the counter and knelt down by the cabinet door, wincing as her knees popped, and gave three light knocks.

     "Go 'way!"

     "Oh..." Tooth Fairy sounded disappointed. "But I have a cookie for you..."

     "I don't want it."

     Tooth Fairy settled herself on the floor, pushing a pot away with her foot to sit cross-legged beside the door. "Oh, well, that's a shame...I only give cookies to _good_ little boys, and you're the only one around."

     "I'm _not_ good..." he sniffled. "I _broke_ it...I made Momma and the baby cry!"

     "I know it was an accident, and so does Momma..."

     "Daddy _hates_ me! And all they care about is that _dumb_ _baby!_ "

     Tooth Fairy sighed and reached up to place the cookie on top of the counter as her grandson began to sob. "Come out. Come on, come to Gran..."

     There was a moment when she thought he hadn't heard her, or had decided to ignore her, but then the door opened a crack. "Can I have my cookie first?" he sniffled pitifully.

     She stifled a laugh. "Of course you can."

     After she passed the cookie through the door, which he quickly closed, she heard soft crunching sounds in between his hiccuping breaths. He was calming down, though; cookies did it every time! When he finally deigned to join her, his face was red and streaked with tears, and his chin was speckled with crumbs. She wiped away the crumbs and took him onto her lap. "Your daddy doesn't hate you, sweetling. You knocked over the vase by accident, and he yelled at you by accident. He's very sorry now, and he knows you're sorry too."

     "They love the baby more than me..." Roy mumbled as he cried on his grandmother's shoulder.

     "I know it seems that way..." Tooth Fairy rubbed his back just below his new wings. "The new baby needs a lot of attention, just like you did when you were that little. You can do a lot of things for yourself now, but she still needs help. They still love you just as much as they ever did, and they don't love her more than they love you. They love you both the same."

     "But all she does is eat, sleep, and poop!"

     Tooth Fairy snickered. "So did you."

     "Nuh- _uh!_ "

     "Oh, yes. And some nights you would cry for _hours._ Your poor tummy was hurting you. Maybe that's why _she_ cries at night, because her tummy aches."

     Roy found his resolve to dislike the baby wavering. He _knew_ about tummy aches! A few months back, he had been very sick, and even though they tried not to let him see it, his parents had been scared. 'Magic Flux', they called it. He didn't remember much; just that he'd been hot and cold at the same time, and that he had thrown up a lot, which made him cry. Back then, Daddy had _let_ him. Now he wasn't supposed to...and he'd done it anyway. He hid his face again. "Daddy told me no more crying...I'm in _trouble!_ "

     Tooth Fairy had no idea what he was talking about, but her 'mama bear' (or, in this case, 'grandma grizzly') instincts kicked in, and she rocked him on her lap. "No, you're not. And if you're in trouble with _him,_ then he's in trouble with _me._ "

     "Cause you're his momma?"

     "I'm his _wife's_ momma, and he's living in _my_ house. But I don't think you'll be in trouble with him. We _all_ have to adjust to the changes a new baby brings to the house. Before, he only had _one_ child. _You._ Now he's very busy with two. And sometimes when we have a lot to do, we get overwhelmed."

     "What's 'overwhelmed'?"

     "It's...hmm...Remember when Momma was teaching you your letters, and you couldn't remember them all at first? You got very upset with yourself, because you wanted very much to get it right, you remember?"

     Roy sniffled and nodded. "Uh-huh..."

     "What did you do when you kept getting it wrong?" Tooth Fairy asked him.

     He looked down. "I got mad and told Momma 'no', 'cause I couldn't do more, and she made me do more..."

     "Well, she was just trying to teach you. But were you _really_ mad at Momma?"

     "Yes."

     "All right, were you _only_ mad at Momma? Or were you mad at yourself because you couldn't do it right away?"

     "...Me."

     "But you still love her, right?"

     Roy nodded, wiping snot from his nose with his fist. Gran 'tsked', and wiped his hand and nose with her handkerchief.

     "Well, that's a little like what happened today. Your father is trying very hard to be a good daddy, and he lost his temper when things didn't go right. But he still loves you, just like you still love Momma. Even though he got mad at you, he was a little bit mad at himself. After all, he's the one who put the vase so near the edge of the table."

     "Ohhh...so it's Daddy's fault?"

     "That's not what I meant...It was nobody's fault. Just an accident. And maybe I can glue the vase back together. Now...are you ready to go talk to Daddy?"

     Roy sniffled a final time, then looked up at the counter. "Can I have another cookie first?"

     The older lady chuckled merrily at this, and got to her feet after setting him on the floor. "Yes, you may. But first you have to put away the pots and pans."

* * *

     Fergus had come down to check on Roy, and he overheard some of what his mother-in-law was saying. He didn't know exactly how to take it. It made him feel very uncomfortable, to be analyzed like that, and what made it worse was that she was _right._ He'd thought he was doing very well, until he heard the crash-tinkle of breaking porcelain, followed by his daughter's wails and his exhausted wife's sobs. He had simply snapped, and now he felt _terrible._ It was obvious that his son hadn't knocked over the vase on purpose, but he'd reacted before he could stop himself, and now the poor boy was in tears.

     To make matters worse, Cori was cross with him over this. "You were too hard on him, Fergus. He's only three!"

     "I know," Fergus managed to avoid snapping at her too.

     "So, why are you up here with us? You should be down there with him."

 _These after-baby moods are even more volatile than her pregnancy moods._ "Mother is talking to him, and I didn't want to interrupt. Cori, I'm _sorry._ You _know_ I didn't mean to snap."

     "If you're sorry, then you go back down there and make it right!" Cori hissed, careful to avoid raising her voice and upsetting Brinna. The baby nursed peacefully at her mother's breast, oblivious to the turmoil that surrounded her.

     Fergus had learned long ago never to argue with her when she was angry. He hung his head and went back down.

     Tooth Fairy met him in the living room, leading Roy by the hand.

     The boy had a cookie in his other hand, which he hid behind his back; it was before dinner, and he wasn't supposed to have those until after.

     Fergus could see the effect he'd had on his son, and remorse settled over him like a soggy blanket. The boy was _afraid!_ He looked back at his mother-in-law, whose expression matched Cori's from a moment before, and he ducked his head like a scolded child. "Mother, I'd like a word with my son. Alone, please."

     Tooth Fairy looked down at Roy, who seemed uncertain, but she smiled and nodded before letting go of his hand and going upstairs. Roy watched her leave, then looked hesitantly up at his father. "I'm sorry, Daddy..."

     Fergus felt his eyes begin to sting, and he blinked a few times before getting down on one knee. "And _I'm_ sorry for losing my temper. That was very wrong of me."

     Roy held up the half-eaten treat. "I meant for the cookie..."

     Realizing what he meant, Fergus chuckled. "I'll overlook it this time. Come here..."

     Fergus held out his arms, and Roy rushed into them for a hug.

     "I'm not bad?"

     "No," Fergus shook his head and picked him up as he rose, holding him close with a hand to the back of his head. "You're not bad at all. Accidents happen. And I shouldn't have had it so close to the edge. Can you forgive your crab of a father?"

     Roy imagined his father with pincers instead of hands, and giggled against his neck. "Uh-huh. Can I have another cookie?"

     "How many is that?"

     "Two."

     "No, not before dinner."

     "Awww..."

     Tooth Fairy, who had been listening at the top of the stairs, smiled approvingly before retreating into her room. She needed rest.


End file.
